LET'S focus our attention for a moment on two white wine varieties that are poles apart, in celebrity terms, as solo performers, but for some strange reason have struck up an incredible popularity as a duet.

We all know of sauvignon blanc's appeal, a variety that has burst into our drinking culture with its wild, tropical, passionfruit smells and a front-end loader full of sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, flavour that is easily quaffed and increasingly, cheaply bought.

We love it to the tune of millions of bottles of New Zealand sauvignon blanc a year. Some Australian regions and winemakers seek ways of leveraging the variety's moment in the sun, either with competitive easy-drinking styles or swinging to a whole other approach and creating drinks with different strokes, funkier techniques and more complex flavours - but at higher price tags.

Then there's semillon, which in its Hunter Valley and occasionally Barossa Valley garb as a bottle-aged varietal, with captivating toast and honey flavours, is considered one of Australia's great wine styles on the world stage.

As a young, new-vintage wine, semillon can be more difficult to define, sometimes searingly lean with an acidic bite. It takes a good amount of time - perhaps, five years - for such wines to show their full glory, but most white wine buyers invest not in years, but in instant refreshment, and semillon is falling rapidly at the turnstiles.

Then there's the blend of both we know them in short as SBS or SSB, depending on which variety is dominant in the mix, and sometimes you'll also see the subtitle "White Classic" which can feature both.

Western Australia, and especially Margaret River, has all but "owned" the blend, though many other regions with both planted, or crossing borders, have twigged that this combo works a treat in the glass and at the cash register, and is now the third most popular white wine style consumed in Australia. And it's growing.

Each grape brings its best qualities to the table and often the combination can be seamless, structured, and alluring.

It's a "sum is greater than its parts" kind of wine that can add depth and richness to sauvignon, as well as more distinctive flavours to often neutral and lean young semillon.

If they were pop stars everyone would be gossiping - how can the number one star have such a successful relationship with the unloved geek. Sometimes you can't explain the magic, you just know they're happy campers.

. Likewise, more flavour layering follows, held up with a palate that exudes minerally and slate-like textures. A great all-rounder with salads and seafoods.

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WESTERN DELIGHT

Alkoomi 2012 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

Frankland River, WA

www.alkoomiwines.com.au

- $18

- Four stars

Value: No brainer

Food: Lemon basil prawns

DESCRIBED on the label as a "quintessentially Western Australian style", this wine shows off all the floral, tropical fruit you would expect with sauvignon in the mix, with a sense of creaminess as well. in the drinking A terrific, fine bath talc-like powderiness adds intrigue to its refreshing lemon-like line, completing a relaxed, lingering finish.

RICH AND COMPLEX

Juniper Crossing 2011 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

Margaret River, WA

www.juniperestate.com.au

Value: Smart buy

Food: Chinese pork belly

- $20

- Four stars

CLOSE to two-thirds semillon that's got some torque in it, so fewer overt sauvignon characters the order here with richer, more complex winemaking showing its face. The 10 per cent new French oak brings out intriguing mid-palate, mouth-filling complexities which add deeper interest to some grassiness from the minor partner. a bit going on at this rate.

SMART WINEMAKING

Vasse Felix 2011

Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Margaret River, WA

www.vassefelix.com.au

Food: Thai chicken

Value: Brilliant

- $25

- Four stars

STEP into the big time with a wine that shows the art of marrying fruit and oak influences via very smart winemaking - new French barrels adding elite, smoky bacon characters that make a real statement. The fruit has extraordinary power to balance the secondary elements, allowing the wine to show off its vibrant, textural and more-ish personality.

PALATE PLEASER

Clairault 2011 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Margaret River, WA

www.clairaultwines.com.au

Food: Pork saltimbocca

Value: Top rate

- $27

- Four and a half stars

IN an era when a leaner, tighter approach to white wine styling is the big trend, here you step in another direction that no less relevant and pleases plenty of palates. A rich environment where ripe aromas start your sensory engines, then a creamy texture takes on the palate with a lemon/lime citrus juiciness and tang in the finish. Quite smart.

TROPICAL BURST

Howard Park 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

Margaret River, WA

www.howardparkwines.com.au

Food: Pate

Value: Style leader

- $27

- Four and a half stars

DESPITE the sauvignon's dominance here, the balance and seamless nature of this wine is impressive from the start. It bursts with richer tropicals rather than pure passionfruit, and offers a generous mouthful of texturally pleasing wine that soaks into your body and soul, lingering with a sensual finishing touch. Most enjoyable.

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